KBC has completed the sale of €1.9bn worth of mostly non-performing buy-to-let and corporate loans that were held by its Irish unit, to Goldman Sachs.

The sale, first announced in August, will have positive impact on KBC’s profit and loss account, as well as its CET1 capital ratio. It will also reduce its non-performing loan ratio, according to the bank, which confirmed the completion of the sale this morning.

The final details of the impact will be revealed by KBC when it releases full-year results next February.

Apart from loans to Irish customers, the loan portfolio also consists of some UK buy-to-let mortgages.

KBC previously said that as a result of the transaction, non-performing loan (NPL) levels at KBC Bank Ireland would fall by about 40pc, resulting in the NPL ratio reducing by roughly 11 percentage points to about 25pc.

The loans have been sold to entities established and financed by Goldman Sachs, including Beltany Property Finance, Tramore Funding, and Banna Funding.

When it announced the planned sale last August, KBC said there had been a “growing interest” from the international financial markets for non-performing loan exposures.

“The sale of the sub-portfolios fully fits within the bank’s strategy and ambition,” said KBC group chief executive Johan Thijs as the time.

KBC made a net profit after tax of €113m in Ireland in the first half of the year. That was almost 33pc lower than the figure reported in the first half of 2017.